Unlocking Device

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to an unlocking device for actuating a control device which is in locked condition in order to release it. Said unlocking device comprises an actuating magnet which, guided in a coil base and/or in housing elements ( 28 ) of the actuating magnet, has an actuating element that can be displaced and that releases, in an actuation position, an unlocking path for a control unit having a locking element ( 30 ). Said locking element, when unlocked by means of the actuating element via the control device, releases the trajectory for the control device to be actuated. The invention is characterized in that the locking device ( 30 ) is guided in the housing element ( 28 ) of the actuating magnet and prevents the control device from being unintentionally locked again by being maintaining it in the unlocked position on the same by means of a blocking part ( 48 ), the unlocked position corresponding to a release of the control device.

The invention relates to an unlocking device for actuating a control part which is in the locked state in order to release it, with an actuating magnet which, guided in a coil base and/or in housing parts of the actuating magnet, has an actuating element which can be moved and which in the actuating position clears an unlocking path for a control unit which has a locking part; the locking part, unlocked by means of the actuating element via the control unit, clears the path of movement for the control part which is to be actuated.

Unlocking devices such as these can be used for a plurality of applications. Especially wherever it is important to execute an initiation process for a technical component in a dedicated and reliable manner, unlocking devices with actuating magnets are preferred, since this actuating magnet even in rough, everyday operation, for example, when exposed to vibrations or impacts, is reliable in use, as experience shows. With the unlocking device according to the invention, especially in the motor vehicle domain, safety-relevant parts can be unlocked and caused to operate, whether in the form of a roll bar which is to be deployed or in the form of a headrest which moves forward in a crash, in order to reduce the free impact path between the back of the head of the seat occupant and the head impact surface on the headrest, etc.

In these unlocking devices the actuating magnet with the actuating element and movable control unit can be housed in a very small installation space, so that these devices can be accommodated in a space-saving manner within motor vehicles. As a result of the space-saving structure, these unlocking devices can also be used directly at the site of the initiation process, where previously, in the prior art, optionally Bowden cables which are complex to manage have accomplished the initiation process over greater path distances.

On the other hand, for safety-relevant applications of these unlocking devices, there is, however, the danger of loss of operating reliability. After an initiation process in which the pertinent safety means has been activated by triggering the control part, in many cases it is necessary, in order to ensure operating reliability, to replace the safety means itself or its parts by new parts before reactuation. In other words, there is the risk that an already activated safety means will be inadvertently returned to the initial position, the control part will be returned to the locked state by means of the unlocking device, and the safety means which is no longer reliable after completed activation is “armed” again.

The object of the invention is to make available an unlocking device in which the danger of this kind of loss of operating reliability of an assigned safety means is avoided.

According to the invention this object is achieved by an unlocking device which has the features of claim 1 in its entirety.

The particularity of the invention accordingly consists in that for the locking part which is guided in the housing part of the actuating magnet, there is a blocking part which keeps the locking part in the unlocked position which corresponds to the release of the control part and in this way prevents unintentional re-locking of the control part.

In one especially advantageous embodiment the blocking part is formed by a spring clamp which is guided with its free spring ends at least partially along the housing part for movement between the blocking position in which the locking part is held by the spring clamp in the unlocked position, and the position in which the locking part is released for re-locking of the control part. The arrangement here can preferably be made such that the spring clamp is accessible to manual movement out of the blocking position.

The spring clamp can be shaped such that the free spring ends in the blocking position between themselves form a clamping gap for clamping the locking part which is in the unlocking position.

In embodiments which are characterized by a design which enables simple and comfortable handling, on the housing part there are oblique guides which, when the spring clamp moves out of the blocking position into the position which releases the locking part, form control surfaces for the spring ends, which surfaces spread them apart from one another and widen the clamping gap in order to release the locking part for return into the position which locks the control part.

The unlocking device according to the invention for a control part will be detailed below according to one embodiment as shown in the drawings. The figures are schematic and not to scale.

FIG. 1 shows in a perspective arrangement a front view of the important parts of the device according to the invention;

FIGS. 2 and 3 show the device as shown in FIG. 1 viewed from the side, once in the locked, once in the unlocked state;

FIG. 4 shows a perspective top view of the actuating magnet with a ratchet;

FIG. 5 shows the partially cutaway housing of the device with the blocking element inserted.

The unlocking device for the control part 10 according to the perspective view as shown in FIG. 1 shows its most important components, such as the actuating magnet 12. The actuating magnet 12 has a coil base 14 with a coil winding which is not detailed and in which a cylinder-like or rod-like actuating element 16 is guided to be able to move lengthwise.

The actuating magnet 12 which is made in the manner of a conventional electromagnet is designed such that when power is supplied to the coil base 14 via a connector 18, the actuating element 16 is pulled to the inside, that is, in the direction of looking at FIG. 2, in the direction of the rear plane of the figure. A reset spring which is not detailed can reset the actuating element 16 when the coil base 14 is not energized, such that the actuating element with a definable projection protrudes over the front of the coil base 14 including the front of the actuating magnet 12. In this respect the actuating element 16 is therefore arranged to be able to move along a first axis 20.

In the actuating position of the unlocking device shown in FIG. 3, the actuating element 16 is pulled to the rear by the actuating magnet 12 and thus clears a swiveling path 22 which runs transversely to the first axis 20 and which is shown in FIG. 3 with an arrow, and along this swiveling path 22 pivots the control unit 24 clockwise around a second axis 26 which runs parallel to the first axis 20. This second axis 26 is, for example, made as a pivoting axle or pivoting journal and with its free ends is guided on the end side in the housing part 28, preferably formed from a suitable plastic material. As is further shown. in FIGS. 1 to 3, the control unit 24 has a locking part 30 which, unlocked by means of the actuating element 16 by way of the control unit 24, clears the path 32 of movement, shown in FIG. 3 with an arrow, for the control part 10 which is to be actuated. Inasmuch as FIGS. 1 and 2 relate to the locked position for the control part 10, it is apparent that the locking part 30 at least partially encompasses the control part 10 and in this way holds it in the locked position.

The control unit 24 has a pivoting lever 34, as is detailed in FIG. 4. The pivoting lever 34, as already shown, is guided to be able to pivot around the second axis 26 in the housing part 28 which for the sake of simplicity has been omitted in FIG. 4. The pivoting lever 34 on its one free end in the unactuated state of the actuating magnet 12 is in contact with the actuating element 16, as shown in FIG. 4 the actuating element 16 being moved into the coil base 14 of the actuating magnet 12 and accordingly clearing the pivoting path 22 for the pivoting lever 34. Accordingly, in the retracted position of the actuating element 16 it forms with its front essentially a plane front surface with the front of the coil base 14 facing the viewer of FIG. 4.

As shown in FIG. 4, the pivoting lever 34 there is shown still in its unactuated position so that on the other end of the pivoting lever 34 the control part 10 is held in the locking position. The locking part 30 of the control unit 24 is made in the manner of a claw or jaw opening 36 and thus this locking part 30 can be arranged centrally, that is, force-equalized in the middle of the device (cf. FIG. 1); in this respect the pivoting lever 34 has an axial offset location 38 in order to be able to ensure this center arrangement. For the unlocking process therefore the claw or jaw opening 36 pivots clockwise around the pivoting axis 26 out of the locked position as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 into the unlocked position as shown in FIG. 3.

In certain application tasks it would also be conceivable to attach a rotary spring or the like to the second axis 26 in order to move the pivoting lever along the swiveling path 22 as soon as the actuating element 16 has been pulled into the coil base 14. In this case, however, in the actuated state of the actuating magnet 12 the control part 10 by means of an energy storage device will cause unlocking for the pivoting lever 34 from the outside which then pivots around the second axis 26 into the unlocked position. For this reason the control part 10 provides for a spring clamp, preferably in the form of a double spring clamp 40, with an energy storage device in the form of spring energy in the unlocked state which enables pivoting away along the path 32 of movement from the control unit 24 for the control part 10, specifically around a third axis 42 which in turn runs parallel to the first and the second axis 20, 26. Based on the inherent dynamics of the control part 10 in the form of the double spring clamp 40 it is therefore sufficient to actuate the actuating magnet 12 in order to be able to undertake unlocking, controlled from the outside.

The actuating magnet 12 is made in the shape of a cup and in this respect has an annular coil base 14 with winding ends which are connected accordingly to the connector 18. As the actuating element 16 the coil base 14 encompasses a flat-cylindrical actuating rod which comparably has a cup shape to the annular coil base 14 and is guided to be able to move lengthwise therein. As FIG. 4 furthermore shows, the pivoting lever 34 on its one free end facing the actuating element 16 in the manner of a catch is provided tapering with a curvature which at least partially follows the curvature of the outer periphery of the actuating element 16 (cf. also FIG. 2). The indicated double spring clamp 40 with its clamp part 44 in the locking position engages the locking part 30 of the control unit 24, the two round springs 46 which relate to the double arrangement encompassing the third axis 42 in the middle.

If, as shown in FIG. 3, the control part 10 is pivoted counterclockwise back around the axis 42, in this respect the clamp part 44 catches again in the claw or jaw opening 36 and the pivoting lever 24 pivots counterclockwise. into its initial position as shown in FIG. 4. If at this point the actuating magnet 12 is no longer energized, the actuating element 16, for example, under the action of a reset spring which is not detailed withdraws and then with its outside periphery again adjoins the inside of the pivoting lever 34. In this respect therefore by way of a corresponding reset process the unlocking device could again be “armed”. In the invention this is prevented, for example, because parts of a safety means (not shown) or the safety means itself must be replaced. Therefore provision is made against the clamp part 44 again unintentionally engaging the locking part 30 and its claw or jaw opening 36 in the corresponding manner. To prevent this, the locking part 30 is held in its unlocking position which is shown in FIG. 3. The blocking part 48 which is shown in FIG. 5 and which prevents unintentional re-locking of the control part 10 is used for this purpose.

The blocking part 48 consists likewise of a spring clamp 50 which with its free spring ends 52 guided at least partially along the housing part 28 can be moved into the position which releases the locking part 30. In order to better illustrate these conditions, in FIG. 5, relative to the front view, part of the wall of the housing part 28 is omitted in order to illustrate the action of the spring clamp 50 on the top of the locking part 30. In the position shown in FIG. 5, the spring clamp 50 is shown as the blocking part in its blocking position. When the unlocking process is actuated, the locking part 30 snaps upward and moves into the clamping gap between the spring ends 52.

The spring ends 52 between themselves then clamp a portion of the locking part 30 such that it is held in the unlocking position as shown in FIG. 3. If at this point, viewed in the direction of looking at FIG. 5, the spring clamp 50 is pushed down by hand, the free spring ends 52 slide along the oblique guides 54 of the housing part 28 so that the spring ends 52 are spread apart from one another and then clear the swiveling path for the locking part 30, so that it can return to the locking position. In a repeated unlocking process the locking part 30 snaps upward again and in this way entrains the spring clamp 50 with reformation of the clamping gap for the locking part 30, so that then it is blocked again in its unlocked position and cannot be pivoted back unintentionally into the locking position.

The unlocking means according to the invention can be used for a plurality of applications, and instead of a control part 10 in the form of a double-spring clamp arrangement 40 there can be a single spring (not shown). Other technical components such as, for example, parts of a roll bar system can be held by the claw or jaw opening 36 of the locking part 30 so that in this respect the range of application can be expanded at will.

The solution according to the invention is characterized especially by the fact that operation is controlled by a single lever in the form of the pivoting lever 34. 

1. An unlocking device for actuating a control part (10) which is in the locked state in order to release it, with an actuating magnet (12) which, guided in a coil base (14) and/or in housing parts of the actuating magnet (12), has an actuating element (16) which can be moved and which in the actuating position clears an unlocking path (22) for a control unit (24) which has a locking part (30) which, unlocked by means of the actuating element (16) via the control unit (24), clears the path (32) of movement for the control part (10) which is to be actuated, characterized in that the locking part (30) is guided in the housing part (28) of the actuating magnet (12), and held on the latter by means of a blocking part (48) in the unlocked position which corresponds to the release of the control part (10), prevents unwanted re-locking of the control part (10).
 2. The unlocking device according to claim 1, wherein the blocking part (48) is formed by a spring clamp (50) which is guided with its free spring ends (52) at least partially along the housing part (28) for motion between the blocking position in which the locking part (30) is held by a spring clamp (50) in the unlocked position, and the position in which the locking part (30) is released for re-locking of the control part (10).
 3. The unlocking device according to claim 2, wherein the free spring ends (52) of the spring clamp (50) in the blocking position between themselves form a clamping gap for clamping the locking part (30) which is in the unlocking position.
 4. The unlocking device according to claim 3, wherein on the housing part (28) there are oblique guides (54) which, when the spring clamp (50) moves out of the blocking position into the position which releases the locking part (30), form control surfaces for the spring ends (52), which surfaces spread them apart from one another and widen the clamping gap in order to release the locking part (30) for return into the position which locks the control part (10). 